Asilomar State Beach
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Asilomar State Beach is located on the Monterey Peninsula in the city of Pacific Grove, California. Asilomar (a made-up name meaning "refuge by the sea" and pronounced a-SIL-o-mar) State Beach and Conference Grounds sits on 107 acres (433,000 m²) and offers overnight lodging and views of the forest, surf and sand.
Asilomar State Beach is a narrow one-mile (1.6 km) strip of sandy beach and rocky coves. A 3/4 mile (1.2 km) coast-walking trail is open to pedestrians. Bicycle riding is allowed on the paved road bike lane in close proximity to the trail. Asilomar State Beach is part of the Pacific Grove Fish Garden Refuge and the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.
The Asilomar Conference Grounds began in 1913 as a camp and conference site for the YWCA. Its historic buildings were designed by the California architect Julia Morgan, and have been designated a National Historic Landmark. It has been owned and operated by the State of California since 1956. The grounds are available to park visitors for conferences and/or overnight stay. The California State Parks training facility -- William Penn Mott, Jr. Training Center -- is located on the conference grounds.
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The Asilomar Conference Grounds is managed by a hospitality concessionaire that oversees a complex of meeting and conference rooms ranging from the 650 seat Merrill Hall to intimate meeting accommodations for smaller groups. Designed to be free from everyday interruptions; there are no telephones or televisions in the 314 guest rooms. Among the noted conferences held there was a conference in 1975 at which scientists agreed on the basic policies that would govern genetic engineering research (see: Asilomar conference on recombinant DNA).
The William Penn Mott, Jr. Training Center offers a variety of training programs to both California State Parks employees and those from other agencies.